When It Was Mama and Baba
by Florida's Firefly
Summary: A series of drabbles about Po's parents, Kuang Chang and Lady Sia Fei; and Shifu's parents, Captain Chen Koto and Lady Kuan Yin.
1. After the Wedding

Hiiiiiii!!! Just a new drabble series in concordance with my 100 drabble challenge, but since you already know what that is, I won't waste your time. :) Enjoy!!

OCs used here:

Captain Chen-Koto - Shifu's father & captain of the Imperial army. You can read his story in my gallery under the name of "The First Step".

Lady Kuan Yin - Shifu's mother & Koto's wife, a young and dedicated mother who is skilled in Shaolin Quanshu fan fighting. You can read her story in my gallery under the name of "The First Step".

Koto & Yin belong to me!!

---

"I feel like a glorified chili pepper!!" she laughed.

"You _look_ like a Christmas tree."

"Once I get out of this thing, Koto, I'm going to hurt you."

The young captain grinned and poked his nose through the tassels of his new wife's bridal crown. "Hellooo? Anyone in there?"

"You think I'm kidding, don't you?"

The very moment her new husband had sat her down on the bridal bed, she had brought her paws up to get the cumbersome headwear off. She was most willing to follow the tradition of wearing the bridal crown and veil that covered her face…but only as long as was absolutely necessary. The only way she had even known for sure she was marrying Koto during the ceremony was the way he had taken a hold of her hand, entwining his fingers with hers just so and giving a little squeeze.

She finally managed to brush the veil away and lift the crown above her head with Koto's help. For the first time that day, the two sweethearts found themselves face-to-face.

"Well, well," he smirked. "How interesting, they usually put the angel on _top_ of the tree."

"Awwwwww…" Yin grinned and yanked her husband's newly acquired _tiongsam_ – the traditional groom's cap – over his eyes. "Shut up."

"Nyeehhh…" Koto pouted and pushed the cap back up. He was then nearly knocked straight over when his bride pounced and threw her arms around his neck, planting one right on the lips for the first time since they had been named man and wife.

Koto waved his arms for balance as they stumbled back onto the bed and laughed at each other's clumsiness. The groom cupped her face tenderly in his paw. She still smelled of a fragrant lily perfume and her eyes were piercing orbs with the radiance of living mahogany, brought out all the more brilliantly by the cherry red robes of her wedding dress.

_My gosh, she's beautiful..._

The captain's face was absolutely beaming with a loving smile as her mahogany met his lapis.

They'd come a long way since that late summer day when Koto had first laid eyes on her and had learned the hard way that girls _could_ fight with their fans and didn't hesitate to if met with undesirable flirting. She had always been such a fierce and fiery little sparrow that – for some reason or another – didn't please the matchmaker. She was loyal and obedient and gracious, yet her knowledge in Shaolin Quanshu fan fighting made her not as quiet as her sisters. The evaluation from the matchmaker was simply Greek to Koto. She was perfect in her imperfections. He had wanted her from the beginning - simply her and no one else.

He sat on the bed beside her, leaning in to nudge his nose underneath her ear and kiss her neck. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

They had waited and waited their whole lives for this one moment to come, and here it was. Here they were at last, holding each other as man and wife; two souls made one and a lifetime together ahead of them.


	2. Peach Thief

OCs used here:

Chang - Po's biological father that was Shifu & Oogway's student

---

_Okay, not to worry…this is simple… Just grab them and get out… Nobody will ever know…_

"CHANG!" a furious shout came to him and – before Chang could lay a paw on one of the dozens of fruits before him – he felt something hard and narrow swiftly rap him over the head. It hurt, he might add. "Stealing from the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom _again??_" his master demanded.

From where he was now on his hands and knees, Chang lifted a paw to his throbbing head. He knew he had done wrong and was already regretting it as he proceeded to implore his master in his frazzled state. "Master Shifu, please, they're not for me this time! Fei's having really weird cravings and the cub's coming any day now and none of the vendors in the Valley are open and—"

Shifu quickly clipped his fingers over the panda's lips, silencing him. "This tree is a crucial piece of our Valley's history, Kuang Chang, it is _not_ a buffet! You know full well that Master Oogway and myself would've helped you and Lady Fei." The aging master paused and sighed, taking his hand from his student's mouth. "...We still have a few peaches left in the kitchen, you have my permission to take them."

Chang's shoulders dropped so heavily that one would've thought that he had just reached the end of some epic journey. "Thank you, Master…" he said breathlessly. "I'll do the shopping tomorrow if you need me to."

Shifu nodded. "But mark me, Chang, you'll be polishing the floors of the entire Jade Palace if I ever catch you swiping peaches from here again."


	3. The Bamboo Flute

Inspired strongly by the song, "Sarah Brown Eyes", which I've chosen as Koto and Yin's theme. :D

Koto & Yin belong to me!! No stealing, please.

_We know about Shifu's bamboo reed. It's used as both an instrument and a weapon. But if it could talk, it would have a story to tell – the love story behind its origins._

"…_What's your name?"_

"…_Yin… Kuan-Yin."_

"_Doubtless named after the Bhuddist goddess of mercy."_

"…_Yes."_

"_I'm Chen-Koto… Uh, Captain Chen-Koto."_

"_I know… I like the song you were just playing on your flute, Captain."_

"_Thank you. I wrote it myself."_

Indeed, it had been his music that had first turned her chocolate brown eyes towards him. He could see her… There she was, just like he had been on the day they met eyes. She walked elegantly through the streets behind her two sisters in a lavender blue _cheongsam_, a matching parasol held over her shoulder and a blue orchid blossom behind her ear. The sun traced itself in a golden glow on the edges of her dress and the snow-white fur of her tail.

She had been slightly surprised to hear the captain of the Chinese army playing so softly and sweetly. She had strayed away a bit from her sisters to listen to that music that had somehow intrigued her.

Yes… She recognized him from before. She'd seen him on the streets now and then for a few weeks now. The first time she had noticed him, he had been carrying a small, freshly-cut stalk of bamboo over his shoulder. The second time, he had been at a cart and negotiating with a rather stubborn merchant hog for a fine, flint carving knife.

And every time afterwards, he would either sit outside against a shop wall to work on his craft or disappear up the stairs of the Jade Palace. Clearly, this was how he spent his free time. He was very handsome… Yin had to give him that. And he had the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen.

Koto smiled at the memory and stood still in the middle of the room. Now she was smiling at him, drawing so close that he could see the flecks of brown dusting her mahogany irises.

She just felt and looked so real… He could smell the sweet petals of the blossom behind her ear, and could practically feel the warmth of her fur against his face. Those brown flecks, so soft that they were barely noticeable. Those eyes that seemed to penetrate to his very soul, loving and mischievous and genuine. He gently cupped his fingers around her chin, gently shortening the distance between their lips.

…But nothing lasts forever. Just when she was so close that her lips nearly grazed his own, cruel reality made itself known. Her fingers, once so carefully entwined in his, slid away to nothing. She stepped away with a playful smile across her features, very much the same way she had the first time he had tried to kiss her.

She then vanished out of sight and scent and touch. The distant sound of her silvery, slightly teasing laugh drifted across the parting air, leaving him standing and gripping no more than a nil hand. Once more, he was standing in the middle of the humbled little training room.

"Baba?" A small, sleepy voice broke him the rest of the way from his trance, and the red panda captain turned to behold his tiny son standing in the doorway. He'd obviously just climbed out of bed – his fur was ruffled and unkempt, some of it sticking up at weird angles. One ear was slightly and adorably lopsided, indicating he had been sleeping on it. The blue color of his little sleep outfit was slightly faded at the knees. One tiny paw sleepily rubbed a bleary eye as the other limply clutched the red blanket that Yin had made while he had still been growing in her stomach.

"Baba…" Shifu gave another sleepy whimper, blinking a few times up at his father. "What is't?"

"…Nothing, little one," Koto smiled gently, walking over to his son. "Back to bed…" He lifted him up just as the cub was about to drop asleep into his arms.

"Nnn…" Shifu's head almost instantly hit his baba's shoulder, and he was out before they got back into the toddler's bedroom.

Koto lovingly tousled his son's white head fur. He and Yin had gone on to get married and have a cub that, only three years into his young life, had just had his mother cruelly snatched away. But, although Koto didn't know it, that boy would grow to rise as Grand Master of the Jade Palace and come to train six of the most respected warriors in China's history. The Valley would remain protected for at least one more generation.

All because a cocky, young red panda that had somehow worked his way into the position of an officer had the thought to make that first notch in a humble little bamboo stalk.


End file.
